Jets Haunted by Special-Teams Nightmare

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—Mike Westhoff is hailed as the deity of special-teams coaching. His Jets squad was divinely anonymous last season, yielding no blocked kicks or touchdowns returns.

His players are more conspicuous this year.

ENLARGE

The Miami Dolphins blocked a punt by Robert Malone, returning it for a touchdown in the Jets' 30-9 loss on Oct. 28.
Associated Press

The Jets special-teams unit has gone from the league's best to the worst, at least by one measure. In 2011, according to Stats LLC, New York was one of only four teams to surrender none of these game-swinging plays: a blocked kick, blocked punt, onside-kick recovery or a kick return for a touchdown.

The Jets have already surrendered five such plays midway through this season, the most in the league. That figure wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the mishaps against Miami two weeks ago. The Jets had a kick and punt blocked, while also giving up a surprise onside-kick recovery and a 57-yard kickoff recovery.

The mistakes have made special teams an unexpected defect for a 3-5 team already mired in last place in their division.

They have also soured the swan song for Westhoff, who plans to retire after this season. The 64-year-old coach joined the team in 2001, after 15 years with Miami, where he built his reputation as a pioneer of special-teams coaching. (He earned further renown after the "Hard Knocks" TV series in 2010, thanks to his vivid language.)

Jets special-teams leader Eric Smith said Westhoff is so admired that other teams blatantly copy him. "A lot of [opponents'] kickoff returns come from stuff he came up with," Smith said.

Westhoff said he returned to the Jets offices here the evening after the Miami game and reviewed tape to see what went wrong. He was miffed, "as frustrated as I've ever been in my entire career," he said.

After watching the footage, Westhoff came up with this conclusion: We're still awesome, but just unlucky.

For instance, on Miami's first-quarter field-goal try, four Jets broke through the right side of the offensive line, but missed getting a hand on the ball. When the Jets lined up for their own kick attempt at the end of the first half, just one Miami player, Olivier Vernon, wiggled through the middle of the blockers. His left hand barely deflected the ball.

"We knocked them right down," Westhoff said. "We had four guys. Their guy gets their kick through. They've got one guy who sneaks through and tips it. That stuff's tough."

Another example: Westhoff said the kick coverage on Marcus Thornton's 57-yard return was perfect. It's just that five players missed tackles. And when the Jets' Clyde Gates looked to have a kickoff return touchdown to start the second half, he hit the turf at midfield after running into teammate Demario Davis.

There was one problem that Westhoff worked to fix this week. On the blocked punt, it appeared as if the heralded punt protector Tim Tebow chose the wrong person to block, allowing Miami's Jimmy Wilson to run in freely.

"It's never just one guy," Westhoff said of Tebow. "He was part of it, but certainly not all."

Outside the Miami game, the Jets' special teams have been a fairly reliable asset this season. Besides the blocked kick, Nick Folk has been perfect on his field-goal tries. The Jets are seventh in kickoff returns, though top return man Joe McKnight won't travel to Seattle because of a right-ankle injury. And the Jets are three for three on converting fake punts, best in the league.

The special-teams unit also should be bolstered this Sunday by the return of Eric Smith, who missed the past three games. Head Coach Rex Ryan said Smith might have prevented those Miami miscues. "We give up a return where Eric Smith's spot would be, we give up an onside kick where Eric Smith's spot would be, we give up a blocked punt—well, Eric might have been there," Ryan said.

Ryan said the return of linebacker Bart Scott and other players from injury Sunday might also help special teams, even though Scott doesn't play with the unit. Ryan's reasoning: Special-teams mainstay Davis has replaced Scott at linebacker. "What happens a lot of times when you press guys into different roles, when they go back to doing special teams, the focus, for whatever reason, sometimes isn't there," Ryan said.

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